SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Sichuan Maker Biotech (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Sichuan Maker Biotech is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sichuan Maker Biotech
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Sichuan Maker Biotech can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sichuan Maker Biotech, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sichuan Maker Biotech operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Sichuan Maker Biotech can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Sichuan Maker Biotech
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sichuan Maker Biotech
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Biotechnology & Drugs sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sichuan Maker Biotech
Strengths of Sichuan Maker Biotech | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sichuan Maker Biotech are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sichuan Maker Biotech is one of the leading players in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry in China. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in China. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sichuan Maker Biotech has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sichuan Maker Biotech has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
High brand equity
– Sichuan Maker Biotech has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sichuan Maker Biotech to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sichuan Maker Biotech has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Biotechnology & Drugs industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Sichuan Maker Biotech have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Sichuan Maker Biotech is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. The technology infrastructure of China is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sichuan Maker Biotech has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Biotechnology & Drugs industry
– Sichuan Maker Biotech has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sichuan Maker Biotech to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sichuan Maker Biotech to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sichuan Maker Biotech in Biotechnology & Drugs industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sichuan Maker Biotech are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Biotechnology & Drugs
– Sichuan Maker Biotech is one of the leading players in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Sichuan Maker Biotech in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sichuan Maker Biotech in the Healthcare sector have low bargaining power. Sichuan Maker Biotech has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sichuan Maker Biotech to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sichuan Maker Biotech is present in almost all the verticals within the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. This has provided Sichuan Maker Biotech a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Weaknesses of Sichuan Maker Biotech | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Sichuan Maker Biotech are -
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Sichuan Maker Biotech, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Biotechnology & Drugs industry. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Employees’ less understanding of Sichuan Maker Biotech strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Sichuan Maker Biotech don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Sichuan Maker Biotech has high operating costs in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Sichuan Maker Biotech lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sichuan Maker Biotech is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry, but Sichuan Maker Biotech needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sichuan Maker Biotech to focus more on services in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry, Sichuan Maker Biotech needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Sichuan Maker Biotech needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Sichuan Maker Biotech can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sichuan Maker Biotech is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Sichuan Maker Biotech, in the dynamic environment of Biotechnology & Drugs industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sichuan Maker Biotech has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, Sichuan Maker Biotech needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sichuan Maker Biotech is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Sichuan Maker Biotech to provide better information regarding Biotechnology & Drugs products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sichuan Maker Biotech products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sichuan Maker Biotech needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring in Biotechnology & Drugs industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sichuan Maker Biotech has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Sichuan Maker Biotech Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Sichuan Maker Biotech are -
Manufacturing automation
– Sichuan Maker Biotech can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Biotechnology & Drugs sector. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sichuan Maker Biotech can develop new processes and procedures in Biotechnology & Drugs industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sichuan Maker Biotech can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sichuan Maker Biotech to increase its market reach. Sichuan Maker Biotech will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Loyalty marketing
– Sichuan Maker Biotech has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sichuan Maker Biotech can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Biotechnology & Drugs industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Sichuan Maker Biotech in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. Now Sichuan Maker Biotech can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Sichuan Maker Biotech to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sichuan Maker Biotech has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Biotechnology & Drugs industry. This can help Sichuan Maker Biotech to build a more holistic ecosystem for Sichuan Maker Biotech products in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sichuan Maker Biotech can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sichuan Maker Biotech operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Biotechnology & Drugs sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sichuan Maker Biotech to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sichuan Maker Biotech can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sichuan Maker Biotech in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Sichuan Maker Biotech External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Sichuan Maker Biotech are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sichuan Maker Biotech in Biotechnology & Drugs industry. The Biotechnology & Drugs industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Sichuan Maker Biotech.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Sichuan Maker Biotech business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sichuan Maker Biotech can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Biotechnology & Drugs industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Sichuan Maker Biotech can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Sichuan Maker Biotech in the Biotechnology & Drugs sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Sichuan Maker Biotech
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Sichuan Maker Biotech.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sichuan Maker Biotech can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate Sichuan Maker Biotech prominent markets.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Sichuan Maker Biotech needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sichuan Maker Biotech is facing in Biotechnology & Drugs sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Sichuan Maker Biotech will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sichuan Maker Biotech high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sichuan Maker Biotech Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Sichuan Maker Biotech needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of Sichuan Maker Biotech is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of Sichuan Maker Biotech is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Sichuan Maker Biotech to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Sichuan Maker Biotech needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.